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Cleveland Orchestra presents world premiere of poignant, Cleveland-inspired work by Allison Loggins-Hull (May 8)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Composer Allison Loggins-Hull spent the past three years immersing herself in the city of Cleveland as The Cleveland Orchestra’s Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow. Drawing on her interactions with residents and community organizations, her valedictory composition, Grit. Grace. Glory., is a sonic celebration of the city she recently called home.

The piece, co-commissioned by the Toronto Symphony, received its world premiere by Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra on Thursday, May 8, at Severance Music Center. The 22-minute work was the rightful centerpiece of the evening, interposed between symphonies by Mozart and Prokofiev.

[Read more…]

Soprano Katherine Jolly, BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, and Cleveland Chamber Choir unite for “I Believe!”

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by Stephanie Manning

Since joining the Oberlin Conservatory voice faculty in 2019, soprano Katherine Jolly has kept up with her performing career. But doing so usually takes her outside of Northeast Ohio.

“ I travel a lot for my outside engagements,” she said in a recent interview. So, being the featured soloist on a program with both the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra and Cleveland Chamber Choir “is pretty special.”

On Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 pm, the two local ensembles will collaborate to present “I Believe! Knitted Voices of Justice and Faith.” The concert at Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral concludes both groups’ anniversary seasons: the 15th for BlueWater and the 10th for the Chamber Choir. Pay-what-you-wish tickets are available online, and the event will also be live streamed. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra wraps up season with emotional performances (May 4)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Spring is always the season of farewells for the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO). Twenty-nine of the middle- and high school musicians who performed in Mandel Concert Hall on Sunday pinned a white flower to their black attire — signifying that as graduating seniors, their time with the group would shortly come to a bittersweet end.

The May 4 concert at Severance Music Center also bid farewell to COYO’s music director Daniel Reith, who has led the ensemble since the fall of 2022. Sunday’s event left both students and conductor with plenty to be proud of.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra brass and percussion celebrate Akron’s 200th in ambitious Tuesday Musical program (Apr. 22)

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by Stephanie Manning

There are very few American cities who can count themselves as having an official fanfare. But now, Akron is one of them.

To celebrate the city’s 200th anniversary, Tuesday Musical commissioned composer Peter Boyer to write Festive Fanfare (For Akron’s Bicentennial). More than a concert piece, a recording of the four-minute fanfare will soon be made available for open-access use at Akron civic events. On April 22, a packed house heard it live for the first time as part of a wide-ranging program by the brass and percussion players of The Cleveland Orchestra.

“Kid — candy store,” Boyer said from the stage at E.J. Thomas Hall, gesturing to himself and then the musicians to describe his excitement. [Read more…]

Conductor Kazuki Yamada’s stylish Cleveland Orchestra debut features Elgar, Mozart, and pianist Francesco Piemontesi (Apr. 24)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Edward Elgar’s first symphony was a long time coming. But once the British composer finally put pen to paper at age 51, audiences at the time simply couldn’t get enough. But tastes change, and that rapturous response in 1908 couldn’t guarantee eternal success. The piece has now settled into relative obscurity for many American orchestras.

Today, Britain is still the most likely place to hear Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 — so it made sense that The Cleveland Orchestra’s performance on April 24 should be led by the conductor of a British ensemble. City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra music director Kazuki Yamada ascended the Severance Music Center podium, making his assured and elegant Cleveland Orchestra debut.

Elgar’s symphony is unconcerned with quaint, pastoral English scenes — instead, it’s often stormy, celebratory, and in-your-face, sometimes all at once. On Thursday, Yamada confirmed his reputation for passion and expressivity as a conductor in his interpretation of the symphony.

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BW Bach Festival celebrates their namesake composer with “Suites and Motets” combination (Apr. 11)

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by Stephanie Manning

It’s early days, but the 2025 music festival season is starting to kick into gear. A harbinger of that trend here in Northeast Ohio is the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, which just celebrated its 94th year.

The second and final day of the event swapped J.S. Bach for George Frideric Handel, presenting the composer’s Messiah for the first time in festival history. But the previous evening’s presentation tread more familiar ground. On April 11, Dirk Garner led BWV: Cleveland’s Bach Choir in a spirited concert of Bach suites and motets. [Read more…]

Contemporary Collaborations with Third Coast Percussion

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by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

“Strum,” “Strike,” and “Bend” are all evocative references to the physicality of string and percussion instruments. And one is especially significant.

Put all three together, and you get the title of Third Coast Percussion’s (TCP) upcoming program with violinist/composer Jessie Montgomery. “ I think the ‘Bend’ part is maybe the most interesting,” says ensemble member Robert Dillon. “Something we really have enjoyed about Jessie’s percussion writing is this twisting, warping, or bending of sounds.”

Whether that’s blowing through a tube into a tom-tom or hitting a crotale before dipping it into water, these manipulations are ubiquitous in Montgomery’s music. And her recent piece for TCP is no exception.

[Read more…]

Seán Dagher’s sea shanties return for Les Délices “The Mermaid”

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by Stephanie Manning

Sea shanties might make you think of the ocean, not Lake Erie. But the freshwater ships that sailed the Great Lakes in the 19th century held a rich musical tradition of their own. So when Les Délices artistic director Debra Nagy found a song that mentioned Cleveland in the book Windjammers: Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors, she knew the group had to perform it.

“ When I was learning it, I really fell in love with the tune,” said Seán Dagher, a shanty singer and guest performer with Les Délices. The lyrics of “Red Iron Ore” tell the tale of a ship setting out from Cleveland to pick up some of the ore before returning home. “ Debra found a different set of lyrics and melody than people usually sing. So it’s nice to come up with something new with old source material.”

After his special appearances with the group in March, Dagher returns to Cleveland next week for a regular season program with Les Délices “The Mermaid,” a family-friendly concert combining classical and folk traditions, visits Akron on April 25, Cleveland Heights on April 26, and Rocky River on April 27. Tickets are available online. [Read more…]

Martha Redbone Roots Project: community and storytelling in Oberlin (Apr. 6)

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by Stephanie Manning

Martha Redbone knows how to tell a good story. So you’d better listen up, and get ready to sing along.

“This really will be a church tonight,” the singer promised Oberlin’s Finney Chapel and its assembled audience on April 6. The mood was indeed congregational — sometimes religious, but always communal. Redbone, pianist Aaron Whitby, violinist Charlie Burnham, and bassist Fred Cash, Jr. fostered an intimate evening of American Roots music with their performance as The Martha Redbone Roots Project. [Read more…]

Itzhak Perlman’s celebratory visit turns Severance Music Center into a ‘Fiddler’s House’ (Apr. 8)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s a Yiddish saying that goes, “In the fiddler’s house, everyone dances.” Admittedly, in Severance Music Center on Tuesday night, April 8, it took some coaxing before a small but joyful group of people stood up, joined hands, and began snaking through the aisles.

Getting the audience on their feet is a trademark of Itzhak Perlman’s touring program “In the Fiddler’s House,” a celebration of traditional Jewish klezmer music. [Read more…]

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